


in times of war, the muses fall silent

by sakurasgf (sanacult)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friendship, Gen, sannin arent like... consumed by trauma here, slightly OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24203794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanacult/pseuds/sakurasgf
Summary: "Why don't we leave warzone behind?"
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	in times of war, the muses fall silent

**Author's Note:**

> sometimes you watch the sannin fillers and youre like man if only they werent traumatised!
> 
> it's probably ooc, but it's just a silly idea that popped up in my mind at some point.

When Jiraiya tells them about his idea, Tsunade takes a huge sip from her cup and Orochimaru stares at him as if he's gone crazy. "Care to repeat that?" he says and leans in closer, as if he misheard for the first time. Tsunade nods and refills the cup. 

"Why don't we just leave the warzone behind and travel around the world?" So they _didn't_ mishear him. Tsunade closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose. There's a drop of sake in the corner of her lips, which she quickly licks away. 

"Jiraiya, there's a _war_ going on. We're on the _frontlines_ for Sage's sake! And you want to desert?" She just chuckles when he nods. "You and your ideas. It's impossible. Right, Orochimaru?"

“Not impossible, but certainly stupid, yes.” She sends the other man a triumphant smile. "But why the sudden change in your priorities? Didn't you want to bring peace to the rotten shinobi world?"

Tsunade hates the smile that appears on his face. It's cold and full of malice, not quite reaching his eyes, as if he was trying to mimic a fading memory of an expression. It's different from the one she knows from when they were kids and it makes her _angry_ , how much he's changed because of all they went through. And it's not only him; she pretends she doesn't see Jiraiya's eyebags that are progressively getting darker thanks to his nightmares, and she tries to hide just how much thinner she's gotten because the scenes from the battlefield are keeping her away from eating anything. 

"The bonfire talk we had earlier made me think a lot. Even if we say goodbye to the ninja life, who knows how long will this war let us live for? I'd rather spend the years I have left on travelling. I could write my book, Tsunade could win at every casino we visit, and you could learn and master as many techniques as you could find, and all of them from different places on earth. I _know_ we're at the frontlines and we're the key to winning more battles, but we might not make it if another guy like Hanzo shows up."

"Enough." She stands up and drinks the rest of her sake. "Talk about it again when you're sober," she says as she's walking away from the table and towards her room. And if a small voice at the back of her head tells her that it might not be a bad idea, she blames it on the alcohol. 

* * *

It's way past midnight when the door of her room slides open. She stands up quickly, a kunai in her hand. She calms down when she sees Orochimaru's face, but it's always safe to make sure. "Jiraiya's injuries after I caught him peeping."

"Both arms and six ribs broken and several internal organs ruptured." The awful smile is on his face again for a second and she sits down again. There's a barely touched dumpling on the small table next to her. Orochimaru sits on the other side and his gaze is directed at nothing in particular, which isn't like him at all.

"Is he asleep?" Her voice is barely higher than a whisper. 

Orochimaru nods. "Four days is his limit in normal circumstances it seems. I put the seal we found in your uncle's scroll on him, in case the nightmares are back."

"To think that the old man would be useful to me one day." She smirks. "What do you want to talk about?" She already knows where this is going, and she hopes she won't have to say much. But it's Orochimaru, and he'll always get an answer out of her or Jiraiya, no matter how badly they don't want to. 

"As much as I call him dumb, this might be his best idea so far. It's not even _our_ fight. It's Konoha's war, and what has the village ever done to us? Kill our families and tell us to get over it." She opens her mouth, then closes it. He's right and they both know it. 

She stopped believing in the concept of a village once grandfather died and uncle started to slowly destroy everything his brother worked so hard for with his reign fueled by hate and egoism. Maybe if her grandmother took charge and became the next hokage the war wouldn't have happened, maybe she'd prevent it, she was never the one to pick violence as a solution. But that's only in her imagination. She's in the middle of a war now. 

"So you're going with him?" 

"And you aren't? 

"They need medics on the field—"

" _Who_ needs them? Those already dead, or the ones that know they'll die in a second because of an injury that can't be healed? Or maybe those who beg to be killed, because they can't take it anymore? The ones needing medics are the civilians from the towns where the battles took place. The ones in poor towns that can't afford basic medical care. The orphans, widows and—"

" _I_ _know._ " The words come out louder than she intends them to, but it at least shuts him up. "I know, it's just… You know the procedures. Leaving the war means betraying the village. If we run away, we'll be branded as rogue nin." 

He laughs, and Tsunade can hear the laugh from before the war, when they were kids and making fun of their sensei. "You really think they'll try to go after _us_ out of all people? Crazy legendary sannin that changed the course of war at some point?" 

"You know, it really pisses me off when you're right, you snake bastard." She takes a small piece of the dumpling into her mouth. It doesn't taste like the memories from the battlefield anymore. "Pack yourself. Once Jiraiya's awake, we're leaving." 

Jiraya's smiling wide when she's waiting for him to gather his things in the morning. His eyebags have gotten slightly smaller thanks to the few hours of sleep caused by the seal. "Where's Orochimaru?" 

"He said he's going to check us out and buy a map." He closes his backpack and comes closer. He smiles, and it's the first honest one she's seen on his face since the war began. "I'm happy the two of you are going with me." 

"As if we'd let you betray the village alone." She smiles. They leave the inn and meet their teammate at the exit of the town they stayed in. 

"I say we head to the waterfall village first." She looks at the map and points at the small green dot. "There's a famous casino there, and if you help me a little bit, we might make some money." 

And they go, the shinobi uniforms and forehead protectors forgotten in a trash bin. 

* * *

Tsunade doesn't like to agree with Jiraiya, but they've been travelling for almost a year now, and all she can say is that it was the best thing they've done. 

The war doesn't reach them, they're the ones following it's traces instead. She tends the wounded civilians, Jiraiya helps with rebuilding the houses, and Orochimaru teaches basic survival skills and self defense. In between, they do exactly what they first planned to; going to casinos, finding inspirations for stories, learning new techniques. Mid-journey a word reaches them that the third hasn't branded them as rogue, and it lifts the invisible weight off of her shoulders (although Jiraiya has said that being Konoha's enemy would've helped him with his new protagonist's feelings). 

And for the first time in years, she can say they're _happy._ They found peace in the middle of a war, rebuilt what it's ruined in them. There's no more nightmares, no more untouched food, no more pretended emotions. It feels like they just graduated from the academy, full of hope and energy, and she wouldn't change it no matter what. 

That is, until a boy calling himself Kakashi Hatake shows up in front of them and tells them the Fourth Hokage died, and a new one is needed, or else the Third will take the lead again. She chuckles, and feels her necklace get weirdly warm on her skin. "Well boys, I think sensei had his time to shine already." 

**Author's Note:**

> am i planning more sannin fics because of this? probably.


End file.
